Self-Portrait

Rembrandt painted, drew, and etched so many self-portraits that changes in his appearance invite us to gauge his moods by comparing one to the other; we read these images biographically because the artist forces us to do so by confronting us directly.

Rembrandt painted this self-portrait in 1659, when he had suffered financial failure after many years of success. His spacious house on the Sint-Anthoniesbreestraat and other possessions had been auctioned the previous year to satisfy his creditors.

In this late work, the deep-set eyes that bore into the viewer’s eyes express the wisdom gained from his life experiences. Interpreting a painting on the basis of an artist’s biography may be misleading, however, particularly an artist whose life has been romanticized to the extent of Rembrandt’s. Before the painting was cleaned in 1992, thick layers of discolored varnish had given the portrait a heavy, brooding quality, but when the varnish was removed during restoration, the rich range of pinks and other flesh tones on his face immediately improved our reading of Rembrandt’s expression. The light that so effectively illuminates the head also accents the artist’s left shoulder and, to a lesser extent, his broadly executed clasped hands.

Rembrandt’s pose was inspired by Raphael’s famous portrait of Balthasar Castiglione, which he saw at an auction in Amsterdam in 1639. In this late self-portrait, Rembrandt returned to Raphael’s prototype because its dignified pose enabled the artist to present himself as a learned painter.

Rembrandt achieved an almost unprecedented level of success, with many wealthy and influential clients. In 1633 he married Saskia van Uylenburgh, the niece of his business partner. Saskia, whose image is familiar from many portraits, was from a wealthy family. Rembrandt purchased an expensive house in Amsterdam, but used credit to fund a large part of the purchase, a decision that later affected his financial stability. Saskia died in 1642, leaving Rembrandt to care for their son Titus. Rembrandt later took up with Titus’s nursemaid, a relationship that ended acrimoniously, after which he formed a relationship with his housekeeper Hendrickje Stoffels, also known through Rembrandt’s many depictions of her. Rembrandt never married Hendrickje (a clause in Saskia’s will made remarriage financially disadvantageous), and when she became pregnant with their child, she suffered public condemnation. Their daughter Cornelia was born in 1654.

Although Rembrandt continued to receive portrait commissions in the 1650s and 1660s, he could not meet his financial obligations and suffered personal setbacks when both Hendrickje and Titus died of the plague during the 1660s. He was financially dependent on Cornelia during the last years of his life and even sold Saskia’s grave site at the Oude Kerk to pay his debts. Rembrandt died in 1669 and was buried in an unknown grave in the Westerkerk, Amsterdam.